That evening, Zhao Qianci's family had an exceptionally lavish meal, including the spicy hot pot that had everyone craving it.

For those trying spicy food for the first time, there can be some aftereffects, such as a child needing to go to the toilet four or five times that night.

Zhao Qianci also made two or three trips.

The next day, many people came out with dark circles under their eyes.

After confirming that they were both giant pandas, they actually laughed.

"It seems this chili pepper isn't something just anyone can handle," Uncle Zhao said.

"Actually, as long as you are not a child or too old, and your digestive system is fine, it's okay to eat less spice the first time."

In Lingnan Prefecture, some people do eat dogwood, and it's not much different from eating chili peppers.

"But the taste of dogwood isn't as good as that of chili peppers." Zhao Qingyan quickly defended chili peppers.

"That's true. I've heard that many dishes in restaurants also contain dogwood."

Our family had tried it before, but no one really liked the taste, so we haven't bought it since.

The eldest aunt said that she was still very distressed about the money spent on buying dogwood at the time.

Today is destined to be a busy day.

After breakfast, Uncle Zhao, Uncle Zhao Er, Qingshan, and Qingfeng went to collect humus to make a seedbed for rice seedlings in the yard.

Zhao Minggeng was tasked with leading Qingling and Qingluan to inspect and determine how many bricks were needed for the earthen beds in each house.

Yes, the Huang family decided to use red bricks for the kang (heated brick bed) in their home.

Although the cost is a bit higher, red bricks are convenient to use and sturdy, and besides, it's not like we don't have the means at home.

Huang feels that nothing is better than making money. With the time he spent making adobe bricks, he could have renovated that shop in town.

The reason we're in such a hurry to build the kang (heated brick bed) is because once business in town starts, we won't have time to take care of things at home.

Now that business has stabilized, the men in the family still need to study. If we don't get them working now, when will we?

She must use the twelve hours of the day as if they were twenty-four.

Of course, the men were unaware of this; if they had, they would have surely wept in the outhouse.

My aunt and second aunt led the children in digging the ground with pitchforks and shovels.

After all, the land for a nursery needs to be carefully cultivated. The clods of soil must be broken up into small pieces.

After the men brought the humus back, they spread it evenly on the dug-out ground and tilled it again to ensure that the soil was fertile enough.

Water the soil thoroughly first. Unlike planting rice seedlings, seedlings don't require furrows. Just scatter the seeds evenly in rows on the ground.

Take out the chili peppers and other seeds that Zhao Qingyan had soaked the night before, and plant them in the cleared land.

A short day has almost passed.

Zhao Minggeng went to the nearest brick kiln first.

The owner of the brick kiln was an old man who looked to be over 50 years old.

"Gentlemen, what would you like to order? We can handle blue bricks, red bricks, pottery jars, water vats..." A series of introductions followed.

In summary, they have samples, but no finished products; orders must be made to order.

"Boss, I'm from Zhao Family Village. My family is going to renovate our house soon, and I'd like to order 2,000 red bricks from you. Do you have any in stock?"

Zhao Minggeng said.

"We don't have that many red bricks, only four hundred for now. You can take them if you want, one coin per brick, plus fifty coins for delivery." The old man said it very decisively.

Zhao Minggeng thought it over; every little bit helps, at least he could put the kang (heated brick bed) on in his parents' room.

The workers started helping to load bricks onto the Zhao family's mule cart.

Zhao Minggeng continued chatting with the boss. He remembered his daughter saying they still needed to make tofu at home, and that there would be something to use for soaking the beans.

They also ordered ten small vats, each half a meter high and half a meter in diameter.

However, the vat couldn't be taken back using their own mule cart; it wouldn't fit. They paid the deposit, planning to take the bricks back first and then come back for the vat.

Anyway, we have a car at home, so what's wrong with having fifty coins?

While we were chatting, we saw a boy who looked about 12 or 13 years old come out of the door.

He was holding a tray of clay figures, plates, and dishes.

"Boss, can your family also make porcelain?" Zhao Minggeng asked curiously.

The boss was very proud.

"Yes, this is my youngest son. He has been learning to make bricks from me since he was a child."

I only know a little bit about porcelain making, I never expected that this kid would actually figure it out on his own and actually make some progress.

The fired ceramics, though not very fine, are perfectly fine for rural use.

Or, objectively speaking, come with me and take a look.

Zhao Minggeng immediately followed along out of curiosity for a look.

The porcelain doesn't look like fine porcelain, but it's much better than earthenware bowls. Some of them even have patterns and words engraved on them, giving them a rustic charm.

Suddenly, I remembered what my mother said during the family meeting last night: she bought a house in town and planned to use it to run a food business.

Since we're in the food business, we naturally need these items, so wouldn't it be better to customize some?

"Boss, these plates and bowls of yours are quite interesting. I wonder how much they cost, or if you can make them to order?"

The boss was delighted.

"My surname is Chen, you can just call me Old Chen. Custom orders are certainly possible, but the price depends on the specific style and quantity."

Zhao Minggeng certainly understood this; large quantities get preferential pricing, after all.

"That way, I can take a few samples back with me, see what my family thinks, and then place an order with the boss."

As for the style, it depends. If needed, I will bring the patterns over.

Zhao Minggeng now fully understands his daughter's tactics. She makes him write plans for everything, and he personally draws the designs for anything she orders.

I took one of each type of plate and bowl, which cost me another fifty coins.

I was about to head home immediately, but then I remembered that my daughter had asked me to bring some soybeans back, so I took a detour and went to Wufang Town.

As time went by, Wufang Town gradually began to prosper.

The variety of grains available in grain stores has also increased.

Although there were soybeans, they were last year's old soybeans.

Zhao Minggeng grabbed a handful of beans and examined them carefully; the beans hadn't spoiled.

He then reached into the container to confirm that the quality inside matched the quality on the surface before deciding to buy 100 jin (50 kg).

After buying the soybeans, I had ten coins left. I wanted to buy some snacks for my daughter, but then I thought about what good food she didn't have.

Well, the ten coins turned into maltose.

When Zhao Minggeng arrived home in a horse-drawn carriage with his two nephews, he was greeted with cheers and applause from a group of children.

Especially when Da Bao, carrying the wobbly Daya, was feeding Liu Xiaohua malt candy, the scene was so beautiful.

The praise from everyone made the usually quiet little guy blush.

The little guy, who always considered himself the older brother, surprisingly rushed into his mother's arms and hid his face.

Seeing this, Daya also rushed into Liu Xiaohua's arms, crying, "Nang (mother), Nang* (mother), hug me..."